eat yo’ (organic) chickpeas
Yesterday I made a big batch of organic chickpeas (from dried beans that I soaked overnight) & as I was doing some research, I came across some interesting info that I wanted to share with you here.
BUT before that—let me preface by saying, we need to start really paying attention to what we put into our bodies & making sure it’s coming from an organic source as much as possible. It may sound more expensive but I’m going to give you some ideas below that hopefully show you how easy it can actually be. It’s why I made a point of adding ‘organic’ to the blog title because as you’ll see, eating organic matters.
Note: In the first 2 points below, they’re referencing hummus, which comes from chickpeas (in case you didn’t know!), and is one of the main ways chickpeas are typically consumed!
ARE YOU READY FOR THE DL ON CHICKPEAS?!
Ok, let’s get into some points I think everyone should know before eating them up!
👉🏼EWG tested various conventional/non-organic hummuses (is that a word?🤷🏼♀️) and found glyphosate (aka roundup) in nearly 90% of them. And one-third of the conventional hummus samples actually exceeded EWG’s health-based benchmark for daily consumption (and let’s be real, any daily consumption is already higher than what it should be for this human carcinogen…as tricky as it is to avoid considering it’s everywhere).
👉🏼EWG also tested organic hummuses and even with them, most contained glyphosate. Thankfully at much smaller amounts (read below on why not to be discouraged by this).
👉🏼In 1997, EPA (enviro protection agency—yet they hardly protect us) increased the allowable tolerance of glyphosate in chickpeas from 200ppb to 5,000ppb (!!!!). They at first called the increased tolerance an “emergency exemption,” but extended it into 1998 and it has since remained the same. Plus, their glyphosate tolerance is based on toxicity studies in laboratory animals…and not on real humans (thankfully not, but still… we can’t superimpose the study of animals onto humans & deem those results the same or even acceptable for that matter). Also, it’s based on outdated research, doesn’t reflect recent studies, and doesn’t consider the carcinogenic activity of glyphosate.
For me, the red flag is when the EPA makes a claim like this: “EPA has thoroughly evaluated potential human health risk associated with exposure to glyphosate and determined that there are no risks to human health from the current registered uses of glyphosate and that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” (found in the Glyphosate Interim Registration Review Decision—PDF found here)
Which is exactly why…
EATING ORGANIC MATTERS MORE THAN EVER.
Even WITH eating organic, we are never guaranteed that foods will remain free of heavy hitters like glyphosate (as pointed out above). Sometimes it just means less. Because of this, we more than ever need to make sure we’re buying organic when we can. My hope is that if we are still taking in pesticides and chemicals, but it’s in lower amounts (plus, we’re eating a lot of real, whole foods & using essential oils to help—right?), our bodies can detox them better than if we were being bombarded with their conventional counterparts.
And don’t be discouraged. This doesn’t mean ALL organic foods will contain pesticides. It just means we need to vote with our dollars because if we’re voting for food to remain free of contaminants such as pesticides, this drives up the demand and this will be reflected in how our food is grown + produced. It’s not an overnight solution, but it is a part of the solution because roundup needs to go!
And to make things a little easier, I wanted to offer some of the following…
EASY + COST-EFFECTIVE WAYS TO EAT ORGANIC:
I get that organic can sound expensive, but that’s not always the case. Trust me, I love a good bargain, so here are a few ways to cut down on costs while still eating quality:
Eat more plants and less meat. This is THE easiest way to reduce costs + it’s better for your health. Even if it’s one dinner a week, do it! (I have a collection of recipes to help!) Beans are super cost-effective and a great protein source to add into your meals! You can typically get a can of organic beans for as low as $0.99. I usually use 1-2 cans to feed my family of four.
Buy in bulk. This can further drive down the price. Instead of buying a 1lb bag of organic rice, why not buy a 5lb bag that will last longer & not only reduce the cost, but reduces the waste in packaging, too!
Cook your own chickpeas (+ other beans). Like I noted at the very start of this post, buy your own dried beans and cook them in big batches. I like to put half a batch of beans in my fridge and the other half in my freezer to use later. You can put them in baggies in 1-3 cup portions and label them as so, so it’s easier to grab out of the freezer and use (especially in place of canned beans). When buying dried beans, sometimes I cook up to 7 cups of beans! This will replace 4-5 cans of store-bought beans!
Buy on sale. This might be a fun little challenge to buy a lot of what’s currently on sale if eating organic is still feeling expensive, so that you can maximize on eating this way, while saving money!
Eat locally and seasonally. Especially if you can do this at a farmer’s market! This not only means you’re paying less for fresh, local, organic produce (because it didn’t have to travel far!), but you’re eating in sync with what the Earth is naturally producing at that time. I find this is a good challenge to eat foods that aren’t always what you might choose & broaden your food horizons.
Ok, I’ll leave it there for now, but I hope what you gathered from this post is the following: ditch conventional hummuses, buy organic chickpeas, choose with your dollars (probably the most important point), and do the above things so you can afford to eat foods that contain little to no pesticides on them because YOU MATTER!!
xo char
PS - This is an amazing time & age we live in to have the access of the internet to do your own research. If anything I said here feels off to you, then I encourage you to go digging for yourself. This is what’s led me to this lifestyle of questioning the narratives and finding the (truthful) answers for myself. Sometimes it’s not always what you want to hear (and you want to hope these companies, like the EPA, are looking out for you), but as I’m realizing more and more, money speaks volumes. You have to be the captain in your own health journey because at the end of the day, no one’s going to do it for you. I hope that I can help + be a sidekick on your journey, but ultimately it’s up to you to steer the ship! And you got this! XO
